


Welcome to the Family

by dinglehorton



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-03-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 06:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1335268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinglehorton/pseuds/dinglehorton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 times Mandy protects Ian and Mickey and 1 time Ian and Mickey protect Mandy (even though she's a complete badass and doesn't need protecting).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> Took a few liberties with when/what age Ian and Mandy met, but eh whatever.

 

When trouble comes, it's your family that supports you. - Guy Lafleur

1.

The first time Mandy meets Ian he’s being shoved around behind the school by an older and much taller kid. They’re both eight years old, motherless, and barely surviving in the world with what their families have to offer. Mandy is a few months younger, but she steps up anyways. She pushes the taller boy to the ground from behind, screaming obscenities at him about messing with the wrong kids from the wrong side of town.

 

When the kid stands up and charges towards them she throws a mean right hook; she makes contact with the kid’s nose and makes him bleed all over the front of his already dirty Superman shirt. The kid looks startled, a little scared even, and runs in the opposite direction back towards the school.

 

Ian gapes at her, wide eyed and terrified too. She shakes her fist out and pushes past Ian. When he doesn’t immediately follow behind her she turns on the heels of her worn tennis shoes and sighs.

 

“Come on, Gallagher. I don’t just punch people for just  _anyone_.”

 

2.

When Mandy is ten years old Mickey comes skidding into her bedroom out of breath with a split lip and a bruise already forming around his throat. Their father has been on a drunken rampage for the past few days, screaming and throwing things, but for the most part only at Mickey. She can hear her father stomping down the hall, throwing doors open in search of her older brother.

 

“Under,” she squeaks out softly and points at her unmade bed. “ _Mickey_ _get under.”_

He grunts grumpily, but drops to the floor and slides under the bed easily. She drapes her only blanket off the edge of her bed and hopes that it will hide him well enough that he drunk father won’t notice him underneath.

 

Her door slams open only seconds later and she falls back onto the bed, startled in surprise.

 

“Where’s your bastard brother?” Terry slurs his words as he sways back and forth in the doorway. He doesn’t come any closer, but Mandy clutches her hairbrush in her right hand—her only defense against the much larger man looming in her doorway.

 

“He went out the window,” she claims, pointing at the window above her bed. Terry growls angrily, but leaves anyway, slamming the door behind him. She huffs out a sigh of relief once he leaves.

 

They wait a few minutes before Mickey slides out from under the bed just to make sure that their father is gone. He jumps onto her bed and he pauses for a brief moment, “Thanks loser.” And then he shimmies through her open window and down onto the ground below.

 

3.

When Mandy finds out that Ian is gay, it comes as a surprise to her, but she takes it better than probably anyone else in her family would have. She’s sure that Mickey and her father would beat him senseless if they knew. Later, when she finds out about Mickey’s feelings for Ian, it hits her like a truck when she realizes just how special Mickey is to Ian, and vice versa. She catches them watching each other, their touches lingering when they think no one is looking.

 

She can tell that Ian has fallen hard for her brother. But Mandy can see Mickey watching Ian too, especially when he thinks that no one is watching. She doesn’t tell anyone; doesn’t spill Mickey’s deep dark secret. She doesn’t know if her brother is straight or gay or something in between, but she knows what would happen to him if someone found out.

 

But Terry does find out about Ian; sneers and throws snide comments towards her red-headed friend whenever he’s over to visit. Her father never attacks Ian, but she can see his hatred for him. Ian can ignore his comments, has dealt with enough bullshit about his sexuality that he can brush it off his shoulder and move on. But once Mickey and Ian start hanging out in public and working together Terry grumbles and protests. Mickey shrugs their father’s questions off, but she can see the distress and frustration on his face over being so close to being found out.

 

“I don’t know why he has to hang out with that fairy,” Terry is well on his way to being drunk, and he seems more irritated by Mickey and Ian’s friendship than any other day.

 

“Ian is a good person,” Mandy says and pauses briefly. “Well as good a person as one can be after living _here,_ and Mickey—“

 

“—is a worthless piece trash, but ain’t no Milkovich is gonna be a fairy.”

 

“Well you can stop worrying because Mickey is _Mickey_. He’s definitely your son,” she says and Terry grunts. He seems placated for now, and Mandy leans back against the couch relieved that he seems to have dropped the situation. There was no way she’d be the one to out Mickey and Ian.

 

4\.  

Mandy is surprised that Mickey isn’t furious, raging or threatening to kill Lip Gallagher simply because _somehow_ he knows about Mickey and Ian’s… _relationship_. She’s shocked that Lip isn’t already bloody, full of bullet holes, or down in a hole with his head smashed in. She loves her brother, but she knows exactly who he is.

 

“He knows that you know?” Mandy asks, barely containing her surprise.

 

“Do we have to do this right now?” Lip asks, but ultimately sighs and answers her question. “Ian told me. I’ve got nothing against Ian fucking other guys, but _Mickey?”_

“They’re not as horrible together as you’d think.”

 

“That’s—that’s _insane_. I know he’s your brother, Mandy, but Mickey Milkovich is all of the things that Ian _isn’t;_ all of the bad things.”

 

Mandy rolls her eyes, “Have you talked to Ian about this? Because I will agree that Mickey is a lot of things, but Ian sees him differently. Maybe you should hear him out. If Ian thinks he’s worth something, don’t you think you should hear him out?”

 

She takes one last look at him, arms crossed over her chest angrily, before angrily stomping down the front steps and away from the Gallagher home.

 

5.

Fiona seems to be accepting of Ian, and Mandy would even go as far as saying that she tolerates Mickey for Ian’s sake. But Mandy can see the looks that she gives Mickey; how she keeps him around for Ian, but doesn’t really want him there. Mandy really can’t blame her, they are the fucking Milkoviches after all, but Fiona can’t hide her disdain for long.

 

When Ian and Mickey _actually_ start _dating_ , really dating exclusively, Fiona’s tolerance begins to fade. Mandy sneaks downstairs from Lip’s room one night and overhears Lip and Fiona arguing about finances and Ian and Mickey. Somehow the argument evolves from them not having enough money for heat to Mickey and Ian “being a thing.”

 

The next morning Mandy rolls her eyes at Fiona’s sarcasm. She’s had enough of Fiona’s shit, “No matter what you think of me or _me and Lip,_ Mickey _is_ good for Ian. He may not be _good_ , but he’s good for Ian. When Ian went off the rails and ran away none of you went looking for him. You all gave him _space_ , but _we_ saw something wrong, _Lip_ saw something wrong. And _Mickey_ brought him home.”

 

“Mandy—“ Fiona starts, face looking angrier than during her argument with Lip the night before.

 

“Ian is good for my brother, too. He brings out a side of him that I haven’t seen since we were really little. So whatever you think of my family, it’s probably true, but Ian and Mickey are good for each other.”

 

Fiona snorts sarcastically, “Right.”

 

“You’ve just gotta give them a chance before you write it off as Mickey manipulating Ian with butt sex and blowjobs.”

 

+1

“You fucking touch my sister or come near her ever again and I’ll come back with a shot gun and we’ll play Russian Roulette up your ass, you hear me?”

 

The little shit grunts in response, face already swelling, blood dripping from his nose and his mouth into a little pool on the sidewalk beneath him. They’re in an alleyway between two houses six blocks away from either of their own neighborhoods so that no one recognizes them. Ian stands nearby, arms crossed over his chest as he plays the lookout. Mickey has it handled anyways, so he just watches as Mickey makes threats in defense of his sister.

 

When they’re walking back towards the Gallagher household Ian threads his fingers together with Mickey’s for a brief moment, giving his hand a quick squeeze. Ian drops Mickey’s hand once they reach the front door. Mandy is sitting on the top step, head resting on Lip’s shoulder, and he’s saying something to her low enough that only she can hear.

 

“I should have gone with them. I’m not some kid who can’t handle herself,” she tells Lip as they watch Mickey and Ian approach.

 

Mickey scoffs, “You’re a fucking Milkovich of course you can handle yourself. You can smash his balls in with a baseball bat when he shows up to get his shit from the house tomorrow.”

 

“That wasn’t what this was about, Mandy,” Ian says softly, dropping down onto the step next to her. Mandy shifts so she’s closer to him and leans her weight against his body. He wraps an arm around her shoulders. “We needed to do that for our own sanity.”

 

“This was about protecting family. You don’t mess with the Milkoviches,” Mickey says and his eyes flicker between Ian and Mandy.

 

“Or the Gallaghers,” Ian says and smiles up at Mickey.


End file.
